


Blue Jean

by chaoticbanjo



Category: The Outsiders (1983)
Genre: Angst, Family, Found Family, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 19:23:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20087473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticbanjo/pseuds/chaoticbanjo
Summary: Growing up poor, a girl, in a gang, is hard. It's especially hard when your brothers are always mad at you for getting in trouble. But what happens when you get in a lot of trouble? So much trouble that you're not sure if you can get out of it this time? And how are you ever gonna come to terms with the fact that you wish you weren't a girl?





	Blue Jean

"You better run fast, greaser!" The razor-sharp comment was followed by a roar of laughter. The victim quickened his pace. Unfortunately, so did his pursuers. The boy's messy hair whipped around his face as he ran. His name was Ponyboy Curtis. The gaggle of older teenage boys chasing him sneered at his back as they bounded down the sidewalk after him. Ponyboy skidded around a corner and ducked into a dirt back road. The bigger boys were right on his tail, and they soon caught up with Ponyboy.

"You're trapped, greaser. Might as well give up." One boy scowled. Ponyboy frantically whipped his head left and right, attempting to find a way out. His panic was interrupted when the boys closed in. They tackled Ponyboy to the ground. He struggled against them, and the boys began to wrestle in the scraggy grass. The older boys were finally able to restrain Ponyboy enough to cut off a lock of his floppy brown hair. Ponyboy struggled again, but was once more overpowered. Bob, the unofficial leader of the group, pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open. Ponyboy's eyes widened and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Ya ain't so tough now, huh?" Bob chuckled. His sweaty blonde hair stuck to his face, and his eyes flashed with impulse and power. He placed the knife lightly on Ponyboy's neck.

"How bout here?" He taunted, pressing lightly on the knife. His friends jeered behind him. "Or maybe here?" Bob said, more seriously than the first time. He dragged the knife across the right side of Ponyboy's neck. He groaned and cried out in pain.

Farther down the alley where this was taking place, a girl was strolling down the alley. She wore black converse with holes, denim jeans, an old white t-shirt, a brown leather jacket, and a dirty black baseball cap. Her dark brown hair was curly unkempt, and hung down around her ears, a bit overgrown for her liking. Her name was Blue Jean Curtis. She walked with her hands in her pockets, whistling as she went, blissfully ignorant of what was happening to her brother. A strangled cry ran through the alley, and Blue Jean stopped whistling. She’d know that scream anywhere. Her feet moved faster than her mind, and even her body, as she stumbled in her burst of impulse. Blue Jean ran until the scene came into view. She was about halfway there when her mouth got the best of her.

"Get your dirty hands off of him you lousy bastards!"

"BJ! What are you doing? Get the hell out of here!" Ponyboy managed to snap at Blue Jean who was, she thought, valiantly coming to his rescue. Against Ponyboy's warnings, she stepped closer. It was only what he said next that made her stop dead in her tracks, about 6 feet away from the boys. 

"They've gotta blade!" Blue Jean stopped, not knowing what to do next. The bullies were staring her down, and she didn’t have a weapon, so there was really only one thing she could do.

Run.

Blue Jean took off, praying that Ponyboy would be okay, that the gang of boys would think she was getting help and they'd get scared and run off. No such luck.

"Get her." Bob spat. Two of the boys sprinted after Blue Jean. She was tall and fast for her age, but she was no match for their strong legs and extra years. She was tackled and dragged back to the blonde-haired, crazy-eyed leader. 

"Looks like we've got ourselves another greaser, boys." Bob stalked over to Blue Jean and kicked her in the stomach. She doubled over, wincing. He reached down and grabbed the collar of her shirt. "How brave of you to try and save your big brother." He sneered. "But you're just a greaser, kid. You gotta wash that grease outta your hair before you can fight with the big boys." He pushed her back down on the ground. Bob pulled out his blade. He knelt down to Blue Jean's level.

Ponyboy was watching this all play out, but could do nothing. Two members of the gang were restraining him.

Bob twirled the knife in his hand, and placed it against Blue Jean's face. She cringed away from the blade, and the leader smiled. 

"C'mon, man, you wouldn't cut a girl." Blue Jean said playfully, in an attempt to lighten the mod and hopefully get out of this mess unscathed. 

"Girl?" Bob chuckled and looked around exaggeratedly, "You’re one sorry excuse for a girl, kid" He dragged the knife across her cheek. "Now you and your brother can match." He chuckled. Blue Jean seethed, writhing in pain. Bob grabbed her collar again and started to say something, when whoops and hollers bounced off the walls of houses and came bounding into the alley. Three boys, about the ages of Bob's gang but having nothing else in common with them, swept into the alley. Bob dropped Blue Jean, and him and his gang scrambled to their shiny red car. The new boys chased them the whole way there, whooping and hollering, then chased after the car, until that shiny red beast was out of sight.

Ponyboy was brushing himself off. Blue Jean was still sitting in the grass, defeated, tentatively touching the fresh, three-inch long cut on her cheek. Ponyboy was fuming. He glared at his sister before storming over to where she was sitting.

"You are such a dumbass." Ponyboy had his hands on his hips as if he was a mother telling a child off for not cleaning their room. Blue Jean looked disinterestedly up at him, then looked back at the ground, picking at the scraggly grass. Ponyboy grabbed his sister by the shirt and pulled her to her feet. She jerked out his grasp. He frowned, and smacked her upside the head, knocking her hat to the ground. Blue Jean whirled around.

“Hey!” She yelled, shoving him, “what the hell was that for!”

"What are you doing? I thought you were smarter than that.” Ponyboy said, pushing Blue Jean back, for good measure. Blue scoffed, pushing him again.

“I might've just saved your lousy ass, you ungrateful-" 

"You might've gotten yourself killed!" Now they were in a pushing match.

"But I didn't! We both lived, Ponyboy"

"That's not the point, we could've-" One of the greasers threw an arm around both Ponyboy and Blue Jeans shoulders, cutting Pony off and breaking up their fight.

"Hey, what's going on here, huh?" Dallas said. Pony and Blue started talking at the same time, trying to explain why the other was wrong and stupid.

"Woah, woah slow down." Dally laughed, "eh, it doesn't matter what happened. At least you two knuckledheads aren't dead." The rest of the boys ran up. Darry and Sodapop, Pony and Blue's brothers, rushed up to them.

"Jesus, are you guys okay?" The older brothers analyzed their younger siblings, and once Darry saw that they weren't severely injured, he lit into them.

"You guys are such idiots, coming out here alone, no weapons, you're lucky you aren't killed, you're lucky I don't kill you right now!"

"Sorry, Darry."

"You're damn right you're sorry," he shook his head and sighed," let's just go home, get you two patched up." He stalked off down the alley, in the direction of home. The rest of the boys followed ruffling Blue Jean's and Ponyboys hair and playfully jeering at them as they went by. Pony and blue glared at each other for a second, until Ponyboy broke the silence. He shoved Blue Jean one last time, and took off after their gang. Ponyboy gritted her teeth, and followed after them, gingerly touching the cut on her face one last time.


End file.
